In Washington, it always comes down to who you know. A new report says banks with political connections were more likely to get liquidity lifelines from the Federal Reserve during the financial collapse.

Financial institutions that spent more on lobbying were 10 percent to 17 percent more likely to receive emergency support than banks that didn’t, according to the report from the free-market Mercatus Center at George Mason University. And banks with ex-politicians or former Capitol Hill staffers on the payroll also were more likely to receive Fed lifelines, the report found.